It’s a typical Friday morning before school at Golden Valley High School which means the students working the Cougar Cafe are hard at work. There’s a constant line as staff, students and even retirees shuffle through the door to purchase their coffee or a quick bite before the first bell rings.

 

Golden Valley High principal Tiffany Tornquist is a weekly visitor with her usual hazelnut late in hand. “We have our very own little coffee shop right on hand,” Tornquist said. “It’s a little meeting place for an informal social gathering in the morning. We have retirees that come in and get their treats and then head off campus. It's just a great opportunity for our kids to get a great work-based learning opportunity and we all get a treat every Friday.”

 

The Cougar Cafe has been a Golden Valley staple for over 20 years. Family & Consumer Science CTE Instructor Nick Westerberg inherited the cafe and has seen it grow from just a cart to a packed room on campus full of regular customers each week.

 

“We're trying to look really professional, and it's just growing and growing and growing,” Westerberg said. “It's amazing how much bigger it is from when it started.”

 

There are approximately eight students working behind the counter to help customers. There are baristas, cashiers and food handlers. Meanwhile, in the culinary room connected to the cafe, there are other Cougar Cafe club members prepping food and cleaning. There are 26 students participating in the club this year and they come up with the weekly menus, food prep, cooking and then customer service on Friday. 

 

“This is like the real world,” Westerberg said. “They absolutely love it. I come to school on Monday. I sit down at my desk and I have my president of the cafe club start asking what they want to make that week. I don’t dictate it.They come up with their menu. They write it on the board, they sit down and write me a shopping list. I go shopping and come back Tuesday and they start working.”

 

Breakfast burritos have become so popular they are a menu item every week. Last week’s menu included chicken quesadilla tacos, breakfast sandwiches and jalapeno pepper egg rolls, which sold out quickly the prior week. There are also a variety of sweet pastries and different coffee options like Chai lattes, brown sugar shaken espressos and iced Americanos. 

 

“All the staff really like it,” said Golden Valley High senior Sofia Hartman, who is vice president of the cafe club. “In the beginning of the year, they were all pestering us to start again, so we had to start the cafe. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”

 

When the Cougar Cafe opened at the beginning of the year it took about 12 minutes to make some of the coffee orders. The students worked hard to make the drinks more efficiently and now it takes just a couple minutes.

 

“We get a new group every year,” Westerberg said. “So it took about 12 minutes to get a coffee, and they sat there, they were frazzled and frustrated, but they worked it out themselves how to streamline and they've just been growing since then. Now you can probably get coffee in about four minutes. The kids take pride in cooking. They take pride in cleaning. They take pride in their organization.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.